GAITHERSBURG, MD – Tucked away at the end of a narrow industrial park, inside the former warehouse of a heating and air conditioning company, sit piles and piles of Barbies, Legos, toy trucks, art kits, stuffed animals, baseballs and basketballs, board games and books.
To the untrained eye, it might look like a southern outpost of Santa’s workshop, though would-be head elf Elizabeth Scott brushes off the comparison.
“It’s a workshop – I don’t know if it’s Santa’s or not,” Scott, 78, said with a full-bellied laugh.
This building has no whimsical machines, conveyor belts or elaborate tube systems that suck up and move presents from one station to the next. There are no festive decorations; no glowing fireplaces.
A single overhead heat lamp keeps Scott and her fellow volunteers warm as they shuffle around the stark, grey concrete storeroom in puffy winter jackets, hats and gloves for six hours each day.
